Sainté began the season with three strait losses, including one to newly promoted US Boulogne. It seemed as if the ten time champions would have another season fighting relegation. Then the scouts in Argentina reported back. Gonzalo Bergessio of San Lorenzo was available and interested in a move to France. Augusto Fernandez of River Plate was an option as well. Both were young Argentinian internationals who seemed like they could bring to life Les Vert’s hibernating attack. Few outside of the Loire capital took any notice when these two arrived in France.

In their first game in the green shirts the Argentine duo showed nothing out of the ordinary, and Rennes ran away with the match 1-0. The next week, against Auxerre, Bergessio made his breakthrough, scoring in the 13th minute on the way to a one to one draw. Though this could easily have been nothing more than that-a draw against a lower-midtable side, it became the spark for a goalscoring run. Four days later, Bergessio scored twice in a 4-1 Coupe de la Ligue drubbing of Nice. His run of form continued on the weekend against Monaco where is 92nd minute finish gave Saint-Etienne the three points. However, It was not only Bergessio who starred against Les Monegasques as Augusto Fernandez assisted Sainté’s first goal. The two South Americans came up against their biggest challenge in Ligue 1 today, against defending champions FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Les Girondins were on a 21 match unbeaten streak and Les Verts hardly looked to be the side to break it. Eight minutes into the match and Saint-Etienne were ahead, Fernandez sending Landrin’s cross into the back of the net. Twenty minutes later it was two nil, Bergessio sending a beautiful through-ball to Ilan who calmly converted. The match ended three to one, handing Bordeaux their first loss of the season.  Is the double signing on track for a “Best Deal of the Mercato”? You tell me.

Where were you two seasons ago when he announced he was leaving Stade Rennais for AC Milan? It doesn’t really matter where you were, but unless you’re a rossoneri fan, you probably emmitted a loud-ass groan. I know I did. After having a great season and solidifying his reputation as one of Ligue 1’s promising youngsters, he just goes and fucks off to Milan, where obviously he’s not going to play.

Well, turns out he had a decent first season with Milan in 2006-2007, making 21 appearances and gaining respect of his staff and the tough-to-crack Italian media. Unfortunately, he just didn’t cut it this season for Milan, participating in 15 Serie A matches and scoring a single goal. Not enough to see them through to the Champions League, as things would have it (ha! ha!).

However, all that is now behind him, at least for the 2008-2009 season, where he’ll be donning the navy blue shirt of Bordeaux alongside Wendel, who agreed to a new deal, and probably Yoan Gouffran.

According to a load of people on the interweb, this loan would probably include a buyout option at the end of the loan period. As Ligue 1 fans, we can only hope! For the time being though, Gourcuff, son of Lorient manager Christian Gourcuff, will be stepping in to fill the void left by the departure of Johan Micoud in the midfield. But despite Micoud’s experience, we may be looking at a younger, quicker, sharper alternative.

Sounds like a good deal for the league, and ipso facto, a good deal for me.

And yes, I’m back. Again.

Gah.

In an interview with the unfortunately credible French sports newspaperL’Équipe, the 20-year old, who played his first full 90 today since coming down with an injury, confided that a departure from Marseille at the end of this season would be possible. What with there being more prestigious clubs than OM in this world of ours, their putrid start to the season probably hasn’t convinced him any more to stay in the south of France. Neither has their unquellable bureaucratic instability, in all likelihood.

Yes, I may leave, but I have to have a good year. As for the winter transfer window, I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave in the middle of the season, and it’s hard to gel into a new group.

Zing! As of yet, the most over-protective of all over-protective club presidents, Pape Diouf, has not spoken to the media on the matter, but he clearly won’t be long.

Now, this of course propels the debate: Is Nasri ready to make the move to one of the biggest clubs in the world? Inter Milan and Real Madrid, as most sites and newspapers would have it, are the two front-runners in the great race of the Samir.

If one’s answer can be limited to yes or no, it pains me to say that I think he is. At the end of the season he will probably be set.

The boy’s only twenty (that’s only four years older than me!) and he’s an unquestionable starter in one of France’s most prestigious clubs, who are on top of their Champions League group and boast about a dozen internationals from all around the world.

If Marseille progresses to the knockout stages of the Champions League, he’ll be under the most pressure he’ll ever have been under, and he’s already been in Coupe de France finals, various tournaments with the French youth squads as well as gotten his first caps and has heavily impressed.

And as for his actual ability on the pitch, forget about it. Unlike the most players who’ve had the nickname bestowed upon them, they don’t call this kid the next Zizou for nothing. His control both on the ball and on what is going on around him are second-to-none, especially for his age. His spot-on passing have led to many a Marseille goal, and he has been known to pull the odd rabbit out of his hat and score a cracker himself.

So he’s 20. He’ll be 21 when next season starts. It’s young, but it’s been done before. This “oh, he’s too young” excuse isn’t going to last forever.

Please weigh in with your thoughts about if he should stay, where he should go, how much he should cost, or whatever.

+ Man, Le Mans are fast. Bad news first: Backheel-master Grafite has signed with Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg! For a cool eight million euros, thanks very much. The final tally for the Brazilian in Ligue 1 is 17 goals in 51 matches.

+ No sweat, however. Hours after that deal was done, MUC 72 greeted Anthony Le Tallec, youth international who’ll be joining them on a loan deal from Liverpool. After playing with Sunderland, Sochaux, Saint-Étienne and Le Havre, he’ll try to fill Graffy’s boots. Tall order!

+ France 98 nostalgia trip! Remember Patrick Kluivert? No, he’s not dead, he’s alive and well and donning a Lille shirt this season! After spending one season in Eindhoven, the 31-year old will join LOSC for two years.

+ Adriano? Adriano? No Inter, no Portsmouth, no nothing but Monaco, that’s what’s up. Of course, it’s too good to be true, it’s not that Adriano, but rather a right-back who struggled with Palermo and Atalanta. Monetary terms have not been disclosed yet.

+ So, you like the UEFA Cup? If you like Ligue 1, you probably do. Good news for the five clubs participating in this year’s edition: Easy-ass draws! For the most part, that is. Bordeaux have drawn Tampere of Finland, Sochaux are pitted against Panonios of Greece, Rennes and Toulouse will both travel to Sofia, to play Lokomotiv and CSKA respectively, whereas Lens have it trickier with a date with Kobenvahn of Denmark.

+ In other knockout-format news, the Round of 32 for the Coupe de la Ligue (equivalent of the Carling Cup) have been set. Among the big matches, there’s a complimentary Derby du Nord with Lens playing host to Lille, another helping of the snowballing rivalry between Lorient and PSG, and two CdL-savvy sides in Saint-Étienne and Auxerre.

+God, man. Sylvain Wiltord again. What’s more, this time it’s sure to be finalized (editor’s note: yeah right). Sources “very close” to Stade Rennais leaked the Breton newspaper Ouest-France that the deal could be done in the next 24 hours, that an agreement had nearly been found with Lyon.

+ This one’s a bit old, but here it is anyway: With their variety of African players heading to the Cup of Nations later this year, and Mamadou Niang injured, Marseille went ahead and gambled on Matt Moussilou, renowned around the league for not being the best in the league. Having played with Lille, Saint-Étienne and Nice in the past two years, he’s on loan to OM for one year. Three cheers for stability!

+ Kimmy Kallström’s unhappy outburst against the refereeing crew during Lyon’s match against Toulouse last weekend has earned him a one-game suspension. For those who aren’t familiar with the incident, the Swede was elbowed in the face, and despite the fact that blood was drawn, no foul was called. A tad beside himself, he began to yell passionately at the fourth official and spat in his direction. That’s when he was sent off.

+ Luigi Pieroni hates Nantes! After a fairly unsuccesful spell of fourteen games with the then-Ligue 1 club, the Belgian international wants out. His potential landing spots: Lens, or his first one, Standard de Liège.

+A door closes, a window opens. Nantes are very close to signing the Brazilio-Tunisian Francileudo Santos, relegated to Toulouse’s bench in favour of Johan Elmander.

+ Lyon still hasn’t decided who they want to replace Greg Coupet while he’s injured. Apparently, they’ve been looking at Frédéric Roux, Bordeaux’s 33-year old moocher who is training with them until someone calls. Bernard Lacombe himself said that he may be the one they’re looking for. If you ask me, the answer will be “What the hell? Roux was hardly ever a dominant goalkeeper in the league, and spent last season with Ajaccio. Just throw him in there in the Champions League, why don’t you.

+ Extra, extra! Lyon’s super-special Karim Benzema has signed a contract extension with the club, pushing the end of his contract to the 2012 season. You bet yo ass Jean-Michel Aulas is happy about this: it’ll calm down other big clubs at least for a little bit.

+ I wasn’t expecting this, to be fair. FC Sevilla, current UEFA Cup champs, have put an offer on the table for Marseille’s Mamadou Niang. Scorer of 12 goals last year, the Senegalese international is worth 7 million euros, according to the Spaniards. Don’t count on this happening, though: Pape Diouf won’t give away a piece of his fragile puzzle so easily.

+ More contract extension news at Lyon. Whereas Kim Kallström was heavily rumoured Valencia’s way, JMA is once again putting his foot down, having his pen and paper ready to see the Swede stay with him through 2012. KK’s agent said talks are on the right track.

+ Le Mans’ Brazilian Edinaldo Batista Libanio, aka Grafite is getting offers from a few Turkish clubs, including local Istanbul powerhouse Galatasaray. Having already lost Bangoura this summer, parting ways with their other goalscorer would be lethal. Watch out for this snippet.

+ OM coach Albert Emon spoke to the media about Samir Nasri’s condition, and said the attacking midfielder would probably start Saturday against Rennes in Marseille’s home debut. A risky move?

+ Celta Vigo’s Brazilian whiz kid Nenê is dangerously close to signing with Monaco, reports say. A five-year contract has been agreed upon by the player and Ricardo’s club, but there is the nationality problem: Nenê apparently wants to get a Spanish passport, and this would help out Monaco quite a bit since they’ve already got their quota of non-UE players.

+ PSG have got their hands on a third-string keeper: None other than the Cameroun-born Armenian international Apoula Edima Bete, aka Edel. Only 17 years of age, this kid could be a real force if he achieves his full potential with the club de la capitale.

+ After speculation of a move to either Lyon or Manchester United, it’s in fact to Liverpool FC that Lens goalkeeper Charles Itandje is heading. With the arrivals of Vedran Runje and Ronan Le Crom, the 24-year old’s playing opportunities were very sparse, especially under new manager Guy Roux, who apparently didn’t care too much about the man who spent five solid years with le Sang et Or. Neither financial figures nor even the duration of the contract have been leaked yet, and Liverpool’s official website hasn’t said anything yet, so I guess it’s not completely official. But it will be within 24 hours, for sure. He’ll be Pepe Reina’s backup keeper, with the high likelihood of Scott Carson being loaned to Villa for the season.

+ As you can read on The Offside today, RCL’s out-of-favor striker Daniel Cousin is leaving the hostile environment known as Lens for the green pastures of Ibrox Park in Glasgow. A three-year deal was struck for about 1,5 million euros. He’ll be playing alongside his buddy Jean-Claude Darcheville, in what they hope will be the Champions League group stage, but before that will face Red Star Belgrade in the third round.

+ Lens are all over the news today. Sidi Keita, the first player to receive a red card in Ligue 1 play this season, found out today that he’ll be suspended for two matches due to the severity of his horrible tackle on Wendel in injury time of Lens’ opening match against Bordeaux.

+ Wiltord. Again. God. Last I heard, he was on the verge of signing on with Rennes. According to his lawyer, anyway. Possibilities of a two-year contract with his former club have been evoked, but the Lyon staff seem to think he’s staying. It isn’t any more clear than it ever was, in fact. But if he does move, it’ll be there.

+ The Marseille medical staff have given their word that Samir Nasri is fit to participate in OM’s home debut against Rennes this Saturday. He hurt his ankle in a friendly against Bordeaux on July 7th. Don’t count on Albert Emon starting him, but a half-hour at the end of the match is a very plausible scenario.

+ A new option for bench-savvy centerback Mario Yepes of Paris Saint-Germain: Olympiakos, defending champs of the Greek Super League. Rivaldo’s former side is also batting their lashes at PSG’s Cristian Rodriguez.

+ First off, it seems as though Italian defender Manuele Blasi is going to join AS Monaco in the next forty-eight hours. The prince’s club, still in need of a dominant center-back after the departure of Gaël Givet, have found an agreement with the player and his agent. Blasi’s agent, Davide Lippi said that Monaco offers the Juventus player more playing time, and that it’s only a matter of time until the deed is done.

+ Just north of the principality is Saint-Étienne, claiming they’re a hair away from acquiring 25-year old Swede Lasse Nilsson from Heerenveen. The neo-international stated that he’s very interested by the prospect of playing in the French league. As if Sainté needed another striker, really. Watch out though, because a Dutch periodical wrote that the boy was headed for Real Betis instead.

+ After a hefty and suspenseful bidding battle with Charlton, it’s in fact Bordeaux who appear to have won the services of Senegalese defender Souleymane Diawara. His loan to the Addicks apparently didn’t cut it for him, and a four-year contract now awaits him with Laurent Blanc’s club. 5 million euros is the approximate amount paid to Sochaux.

+ Now, an unfounded brief for the rumour-happy Marseille. According to footmercato.net, they could be losing their young defender Ronald Zubar to Lille, in desperate need of a decent center-back. If this deal were to come together, it would most likely be in the form of a loan, but don’t even count on that. Diouf is as stubborn as a mule.

+ However, it is written in stone that Marseille have extended keeper Cédric Carrasso’s contract through 2011. The arrival of Steve Mandanda had many people thinking that was the end of Carrass’, but I guess not.

+ Charles Itandje to Manchester United? Really, that’s just strange. If he does that, he’s dumb.

+ Daniel Cousin, of Lens, will join Glasgow Rangers tomorrow. The source? Jean-Claude Darcheville, formerly of Bordeaux, who got the info from the horse’s mouth, aka the president of the club himself.

In perhaps the biggest domestic soap opera of the summer, Sylvain Wiltord is probably not going to change clubs, yet. At first rumoured to Marseille, nothing came of that. Then rumoured to his former employer Rennes, conflicts of interest between the three parties dissolved all talks. Then, heavily rumoured to PSG, where he really, really wanted to go, no agreement could be reached, and Bernard Lacombe said in a pointedly short statement that Wiltord would stay a Lyon player for now.

Quick bit that I found on a website with no verifiable sources: AS Roma wants Anthony Réveillère. Isn’t that funny? I’m sure the Lyon defender would rather play for Garforth Town FC than Roma.

Bad news for Sochaux: Apparently not satisfied with the number of quality players they let slip away this summer, a name was just added to the list: That of Serbian youth international Dusko Tosic, who signed on with Werder Bremen for the next four years. The price tag has not yet been revealed, but should be quite a bit considering the 22-year old’s vast potential and his great season last year.

With Lyon searching for alternatives until Grégory Coupet comes back, it seems they’ve decided upon Lens keeper Charles Itandje, pushed to the bench after the acquisition of Vedran Runje. According to footmercato.net, the deal should be finalized before Lyon’s Saturday match at Toulouse.

The pair walked out the door and onto the bustling alley. They were seen upon their return to Madrid, looking flustered and walking awkwardly. No questions were asked.

THE END.

That was my story. It’s a historical fiction. Real did offer 15 mil for Nasri, according to the dripping-with-rumour Spanish newsie As. Officially, nothing is clear, but at least two things are.

a) Samir Nasri is not leaving Marseille this year. The boy is marseillais. He’s born there, was raised there, has always played there, loves the city, the club, the supporters. He’s staying put, Christ.

b) Samir Nasri is not leaving Marseille for 15 million euros. In Soviet Russia, what you have just read laughs at you! Of all the Next Zidanes Inc., Nasri is the most widely-accepted heir. I don’t care if he’s too young to pay more for, he’s already worth more than that.